National Museum of U S Air Force - awesome doesn't begin to describe it. Its beyond that !!

I had just finished reading the autobiography of the Wright Brothers and wrote to my son that I must visit their home in Dayton, an hour away from where he lived. He said that Dayton was the home of the National Museum of the US Air Force: so we could see two famous exhibits on the same day. Unfortunately, this never happened. It appears that Mr Ford (he of the Ford Car Co.) had purchased the Wright Brothers home and workshop and transported every lock, stock and nail to erect it in Michigan!! Why could he not leave it where it was and gain further goodwill by supporting it locally  ?? The egos of great men can never be understood. 

Anyway, we landed up at the Museum. Suffice it to say, that I have never ever seen such a vast collection of aircraft or Air Force linked memorabilia. 

“Awesome” does not even begin to describe it - the word needs to be hiked up many notches.

The Museum is stupendous and typically American – in size – four huge Nissen huts or hangars, each capable of 4,500 visitors at any time; in coverage of every element of the development of an air force – every single war the US has been involved with from Day 1 and including every department as well as recognising the services of senior to junior employee who have played an important role in the Air Force; in cleanliness – as expected from a military establishment, everything was spic and span; in loyalty, knowledge and customer service orientation of their wonderful corps of volunteers. 

I am not going to re-invent the wheel. I therefore gratefully acknowledge here data taken from Wikipedia and the Museum which I have added to my own memories of that day’s wonderful outing.  

The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF has one of the world's largest collections with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display. The museum draws more than 1.3 million visitors each year, making it one of the most frequently visited tourist attractions in Ohio.          

  The  museum dates to 1923, when the Engineering Division at Dayton's McCook Field first collected technical artifacts for preservation. In 1927 it moved to then-Wright Field in a laboratory building. In 1932 the collection was named the Army Aeronautical Museum and placed in a WPA building from 1935 until World War II. 

In 1948 the collection remained private as the Air Force Technical Museum. In 1954 the Air Force Museum became public and was housed in its first permanent facility, Building 89 of the former Patterson Field in Fairborn, which had been an engine overhaul hangar. Many of its aircraft were parked outside and exposed to the weather. It remained there until 1971, when the current facility first opened. Not including its annex on Wright Field proper, the museum has more than tripled in square footage since its inception in 1971 with the addition of a second hangar in 1988, third in 2003, and fourth in 2016. 




The museum announced a new name for the facility in October 2004. The former name, United States Air Force Museum, changed to National Museum of the United States Air Force. 

The museum is divided into galleries that cover broad historic trends in military aviation. These are further broken down into exhibits that detail specific historical periods and display aircraft in historical context. Early Years Gallery         

World War II Gallery·        

Korean War Gallery·         Southeast Asia War Gallery·         Cold War Gallery·         

Missile Gallery       

Space Gallery·         

Research & Development Gallery·         

Global Reach Gallery·       

Presidential Gallery         

Air Park ·         

Memorial Park·         

Other Exhibits

The museum has many pieces of U.S. Army Air Forces and U.S. Air Force clothing and uniforms. At any time, more than 50 WWII-vintage A-2 leather flying jackets are on display, many of which belonged to famous figures in Air Force history. Others are painted to depict the air planes and missions flown by their former owners. The displays include the jacket worn by Brigadier General James Stewart, P-38 ace Major Richard I. Bong's  sheepskin B-3 jacket and boots, an A-2 jacket worn by one of the few USAAF pilots to leave the ground during the attack on Pearl Harbour, and President Ronald Reagan's USAAF peacoat.

Walking around these massive exhibits and often into their innards was a great experience not only for me but also my grand child. Here she is seen inside a bomber with actual sized bombs along side her. Perspective becomes reality.

                                                     This plane is famous for another   reason. For many decades, it has been the main fighter plane of the Indian Air Force – the MIG 15. It fought many wars against Pakistan and played a critical role in the Bangladesh War. A close friend of mine was a squadron leader in that war and has memorable stories to relate of how the war was fought with meagre resources, but still won!! Only in recent years, has it been phased out.

 The plane above is the Phantom II which played a major role in US Naval fleet defense. From May 1963 to 1979, it was a major player in USAF and the Navy as well as other countries friendly with USA. It 1965, they were sent into action against the North Vietnamese. The aircraft on display is the one which Col Robin Olds, a veteran ace of WW 2, scored four combat victories in S E Asia. In one day, they shot down two MIG 17’s.  

 A sight worth seeing was the massive B 52 bomber. Since 1955, it was the main long range bomber during the Cold War and even today. Nearly 750 were built before production stopped in 1963. It has numerous records to its credit: in Jan 1957, three B52’s completed the world’s first nonstop round the world flight by jet aircraft which lasted over 45 hours with three aerial refuelling. The B52 was also responsible for the airborne hydrogen bomb over the Bikini Atoll in 1956. In June 1965, it entered the Vietnam War and by Aug 1973, they had flown 126,615 combat sorties and if I recall. millions of tonnes of bombs were dropped on the Vietnamese. 

This monster is the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, a wonderful heavy duty plane which again was the backbone of providing supplies during various conflicts. How did the organisers of this museum manage to arrange so many aircraft, large and small, in such tight places?? 

As a lover of model aircraft, and one who used to make them when young, i was thrilled to see an amazing collection! There was a man named Eugene Kettering who loved planes and was obviously involved with philanthropic activities. He was made the first Chairman of the Foundation establishing this museum and in the opening of the first building in 1971. He donated 558 model aircraft in 1962 from his personal collection – they are beautifully displayed chronologically – the visitor gets an excellent idea at a single glance of the technological growth of aviation. From the smallest plane to massive cargo planes and later models, they are all there.  

There are some aircraft which have been, so to speak, cut in half!! They show what goes into the plane and how its constructed.  

Here we have an accurate representation of the cockpit of an F-16 flight simulator. It was used to teach pilots various procedures and techniques without incurring the cost and hazards of practicing in a real plane. They were taught all the emergency measures needed to be deployed in an emergency. Here we have a potential recruit for the Indian Air Force of the future!!  

I recall seeing many movies featuring helicopters hovering and creating a fire and brimstone hell on the ground below. Black Hawk Down was just a recent one. The plane shown here, a Sikorsky MH-53M, was used by Special Forces of the US to covertly enter enemy territory. These helicopters could undertake missions in all sorts of weather, distances and terrain. Planes naturally were upgraded all the time, each version getting a number. So, here the original parent was the HH-53 Green Giant now modified. After the 1960’s, the air force, with its vast financial clout, completely renovated them, engine and skin and all, and with these improvements, they were given the new name of MH – M=multi mission and H= helicopter. These helios had Doppler radar, and the latest technology which literally gave them eyes from far above.  

The museum has several Presidential aircraft, including those used by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower. 

The centerpiece of the presidential aircraft collection is SAM 26000, a modified Boeing 707 known as a VC-137C, used regularly by Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. It became the backup presidential aircraft after Nixon's first term. Its shown here above and on right side.

This aircraft took President and Mrs. Kennedy to Dallas on November 22, 1963—the day of the President's assassination. Vice President Johnson was sworn in as president aboard it shortly after the assassination, and the aircraft then carried Kennedy's body back to Washington. It was temporarily removed from display on December 5, 2009, repainted and returned to display on President's Day in 2010.

This is President Dwight Eisenhower's aircraft 

All presidential aircraft are now displayed in the Presidential Gallery, in the new fourth building. An interesting aspect is that in all these planes, the seating and sleeping areas were really narrow.

The museum completed the construction of a third hangar and hall of missiles in 2004. It now houses post-Cold War era planes such as the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber (test aircraft), the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth ground attack aircraft and others. A fourth hangar was completed in 2016 to house the museum's space collection, presidential planes, and an enlarged educational outreach area. 

One of my favourite aircraft on show was this sleek beauty – F-117A Nighthawk. Aimed at high value targets without being detected by enemy radar. This was the world’s first stealth fighter aircraft. It became operational from Oct 1983 – in various conflicts like Baghdad, Yugoslavia etc.  

The final aircraft in this amazing aircraft blog is the Northrop Tacit Blue built in the early 1980’s. It featured new ideas in stealth tech like curved surfaces. The design reduced considerably the heat signature of the plane. Whilst aerodynamically unstable, it had a digital fly-by-wire system to control it. It monitored enemy forces even thru cloud cover without detection.  

The museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. The museum is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. 

Some museum exhibits have special hours. The 8th Air Force Control Tower and Nissen Hut, located in the Air Park, are open from noon to 4 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday from January through March (closed Monday through Thursday) and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily April through December.

Admission to the museum is FREE.

This is the XB-70A Valkyrie - just look at those massive exhausts!! 

Text and photographs copyright of the author. No part of this article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com

Airboating the Everglades in Florida

The standard scene at any air boat location - boats leaving and coming -
one way system throughout 

South Florida ranks as one of USA’s fastest growing urban sprawls, yet it harbours remarkable wilderness. Co existing with six million humans the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness Area in Everglades National Park preserves nearly 1.3 million acres of marine estuary, cypress forest, hardwood hammock, mangrove and saw grass prairie. It is the largest wilderness area east of the Mississippi River. 

Wilderness once encircled humans. Now, we encircle the wilderness. The Americans enacted a wonderful Act – The Wilderness Act which demands that public lands maintain their wild character. Roads, buildings, logging and commercial activities are restricted, if not banned. Wilderness gives a glimpse into what America once was. I like that approach.

Now this is something you will find only in America – where individuals will donate huge chunks of money and / or land for a cause they believe in AND which will be looked after by the State Govt without, in most cases, being eaten up by builders and developers. 

There is the Wilderness Waterway – a marked water way route that is 99 miles  one way only route!! You can prowl the vastness of the mangroves. Rest on beaches.... always keeping an eye open for crocs. Watch fish below the chickees below. And of course the Park has an amazing range of staff to help the tourist plan the journey – be it by car or a trek for a day or a week. 

One of the major attractions of Florida’s Everglades, apart from the alligators, is air boating. These are rather large flat bottomed boats with a huge fan on the rear, a humongous large engine to achieve speed and a major noise polluter on the ’glades waterways. There are various packages available – starting with the basic package of mangrove country for an hour, going up to a swamp and buggy combo or a swamp and animal park combo.

We decided to go on a back country one hour airboat ride. Like many tourists, we were careful in selecting the operator as we had heard many stories of cheating and quick bucks being made.  We met Capt Kenny, a young brash sailor who has been sailing or piloting airboats for the last ten years. A really hunk of a guy. Not friendly, just to the point. Rather taciturn. Wearing his head phones, not much of a talker either.

It must have originally been created as a means of transport thru the glades but then someone noticed its potential as a tourist industry. Today, you see many companies offering such rides. To go on an airboat once is fine but to do this as a career or even daily for a few years require a certain mental capacity and definite attitude.





 It’s a noisy mind blowing business. Day in and day out. Repeating the same instructions to a bunch of tourists who are just waiting to try something stupid!! 

This is an awesome sight - barrelling down at full speed with mangroves on either side. 

 As you will see from the photos, it was a real experience. At speeds of 35 mph, the ride lasts for an hour. We went through a one way system of waterway – mangrove, open area, mangrove and then large expanse. Twists and turns. I repeat, multiple twists and turns. You just hung on for dear life. 

there were  two long alligators, one quite close by.  9ft female and 12 ft male. Kenny stopped and let them come up close to us. He was watchful to ensure no sudden jerk and lift by the gator! 

Kenny had given us head phones to cut off the loud noise of the air boat but I felt that this was unnatural. We had come for the experience and that included being partially deafened. Only then can one feel the real anger of air boating. Kenny claimed that in his ten years, he had never had an accident. Surprising considering he drove the vehicle at such speed in the narrow areas, took wild turns and at strange angles at speed and then stopped. I am sure it’s an accident waiting to happen. We just were happy that we got off safe and in one piece. 

It is said that before the Europeans even came here, the land was occupied for centuries by Calusa Indians who lived on the islands and waterways. They lived with the tidal rhythm of The Ten Thousand Islands. They developed a complex social system and built impressive canals and earthworks. They piled shells into mounds thereby creating dry ground. Most of the nearby Chokoloskee and Sanfly islands were originally Calusa shell mounds!!

The mid 1830’s there were no Calusas left. Three hundred years after the first Europeans arrived from Spain; the culture of south Florida’s original inhabitants had disappeared.  Today there are NO aboriginal people in south Florida. Miccosukee and Seminole Indians arrived on the mid 1830’s and many now reside along the Tamiami Trail.

It was an interesting experience – one which should not be missed when visiting this area.

Text and photographs copyright of the author. No part of this article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com